Camino de Santiago del Norte
Days 5 & 6 of our Adventure: WALK!!
CAMINO Day 1
Wednesday September 6, 2017
What we read: 26km / 16 miles / 7 hours
What we actually did: 20 miles / 7.5 hours
Total Ascent: 1835 ft.
Total Descent: 1806 ft.
Difficulty Rating: Terrain 5; Waymarking 2-3
Scenery Rating: 4
San Sebastian to Getaria
We walked mostly in the rain, and hardly saw anyone on the Camino. The hike was grueling at some points, but the final stage was flat, on a paved path that reminded me of The Strand back home between Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach (but much longer). We were rewarded by spectacular scenery throughout the walk. We ended the afternoon with a delicious meal of grilled turbot, a mixed salad, and a bottle of Navarra Rosé.
Stayed at Hotel Itxas Gain in Getaria – nice coastal town with cobblestone streets and plenty of Pintxos bars.
CAMINO Day 2
Thursday September 7, 2017
What we read: 18km / 12 miles / 4.5 hours
What we actually did: 16 miles / 7 hours
Total Ascent: +1532 ft.
Total Descent: -1586 ft.
Difficulty Rating: Terrain 4; Waymarking 3 (“not great”)
Scenery Rating: 4
Getaria to Deba
We walked through the town of Zumaia, which has two beaches popular with geologists because of the unique “flysch” that are located there. The Zumaia beaches are home to the largest area of this unusual rock structure in the world. It stretches 5 miles and gives this section of the Basque coast an otherworldly feeling. Of note: this is one of the settings used in Game of Thrones (where some of Dany’s forces land as they make their way across Westeros).
Most of the walk was on unpaved, rocky, muddy paths. But as one “peregrino” noted, “It’s better than walking in the sunshine”. True. Walking in mild, slightly overcast weather is comfortable. And there was no rain today!!
Arrived at Pension Zumardi in Deba at about 2:00, and found another great restaurant… had the exact same meal as yesterday, including the Rosé.
** Note ** I managed to delete my entire [initial] blog post, so this is an abbreviated one just to get the pictures posted!! Hope to do better this week-end with pics of my Arano family.
Souper Power 
I am so happy that all is well. I was very worried about you on the first day. You two are setting the bar really high, Luz won’t be happy until she does the Norte route. It’s looks much prettier than the Camino Frances.
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